Ekholm picked a great time to score his first goal of the season. "Always in OT you want to be the clutch guy and score that goal," Ekholm said. "Just to get the two points; big start for us on this little road trip before Christmas." The 24-year-old has been more of a solid defensive presence in the NHL. He has seven points and a plus-8 rating in 31 games this season. Sun, Dec 21, 2014 08:52:00 AM

He earned an assist on a power-play goal by Filip Forsberg despite being on the ice for just 17 seconds and he drew a helper on Matt Cullen's game winner. Ekholm didn't have a point in his first eight games, but he's accumulated five assists in his last five matches. Fri, Nov 7, 2014 09:31:00 AM

Ekholm picked a great time to score his first goal of the season. "Always in OT you want to be the clutch guy and score that goal," Ekholm said. "Just to get the two points; big start for us on this little road trip before Christmas." The 24-year-old has been more of a solid defensive presence in the NHL. He has seven points and a plus-8 rating in 31 games this season.

He earned an assist on a power-play goal by Filip Forsberg despite being on the ice for just 17 seconds and he drew a helper on Matt Cullen's game winner. Ekholm didn't have a point in his first eight games, but he's accumulated five assists in his last five matches.

Mattias Ekholm hopes to contribute more offensively this season in coach Peter Laviolette's new system.

"I've got to skate a little bit more and I like that, being up in the play, joining the rush," he said. "Just doing smart plays and getting involved a little bit more in the offensive zone. I like it so far." Ekholm doesn't have a point in five games and he hasn't shown much with only one shot. He also picked up just nine points in 62 games last campaign. He shouldn't be on your fantasy radar at this time.

Mattias Ekholm went from potential goat to hero in Sweden's quarterfinal victory against Belarus.

He hooked Alexei Kalyuzhny late in the third period and the play resulted in a penalty shot that Anders Nilsson stopped. Shortly after that, Ekholm scored the game-winning goal on a great rush to give Sweden a 3-2 lead. He has two goals and four assists in eight games at the tournament.

Mattias Ekholm dressed Sunday after he was a healthy scratch for Nashville's previous three contests.

The Predators dressed seven defensemen against Edmonton because of injuries to Matt Cullen and Viktor Stalberg. Ekholm, who lined up as a forward, ended up logging just 1:15 of ice time in the team's 5-1 loss.

Mattias Ekholm has an excellent chance to crack into the Nashville lineup once the lockout is over.

Ekholm was drafted in the fourth round of the 2009 Draft and came over to North America last season but struggled. He had an out in his contract stating that he could return to his Swedish team if he failed to make the Predators and after giving Ekholm an opportunity to play two games with Nashville, it was clear he wasn't ready and was returned to Sweden where he was the Borje Salming winner as the SEL's top rearguard. He looks ready now and while his play in his own end needs work, his offensive skills are NHL ready. "His biggest issues do not surround the offensive zone. His instincts moving the puck are tremendous," coach Dean Evason said. "His challenges are in the defensive zone. He mentioned to us he thinks in the defensive zone whereas he reacts in the offensive zone."

Mattias Ekholm is projected to play the 2012-13 season in North American after he was returned to the Swedish Elite League last year following a brief introduction to the NHL.

He wasn't ready for the pro game at the time, but the Predators are still high on his ability. "I can't wait to get him over here and get into our system and play in North America," said Nashville GM David Poile said. "I know he's going to be a good NHL player in time." Ekholm plans to play with the Predators or with their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee.

The Predators returned Mattias Ekholm to Brynas of the Swedish Elite League for the balance of the season.

The Preds are still high on Ekholm, but he clearly wasn't ready to challenge for a roster spot in the NHL. "It became clear he wasn’t ready for the NHL," Preds' coach Barry Trotz said. "He’s going to be a really good prospect for us, but you have to be able to produce. The NHL is about winning; it’s not about developing players a whole lot. It’s about winning, and he has some development to do." Ekholm is not worth keeping in a reserve slot for 2012-13.

Depth Charts

The Sabres opened the scoring late in the second period, but Ribeiro tied the game at the 15:43 mark of the third period to force overtime. After posting just 47 points with the Coyotes last year, Ribeiro is having a very nice bounce-back season. The 35-year-old has 12 goals and 50 points in 60 games this year. Filip Forsberg scored the winning goal in the shootout.

Fisher scored one of three second period goals for the Predators, but it wasn't enough for them to win the game. The 34-year-old missed a good chunk of the season with an achilles injury but he has been fairly productive since his return. Fisher has 15 goals and 33 points in 42 games this season. He is currently riding a three-game point streak.

Mike Santorelli has alternated between playing center and the wing during his first three games with the Predators.

He skated as a winger against Colorado on Tuesday alongside Colin Wilson and Calle Jarnkrok. Santorelli has eight shots on goal and no points with Nashville since being acquired from Toronto. Coach Peter Laviolette plans to use him at both positions for the rest of the season.

Jarnkrok had dressed for the Preds in their last three games but will be out of the lineup Monday night versus the Rangers. He’s played in 58 games this season and has recorded six goals and nine assists and shouldn’t be owned in any fantasy format right now. Taylor Beck will dress in his place Monday.

Colin Wilson wasn't impressed with his team's effort in the first two periods of Saturday's loss to Philadelphia.

"We were not playing with passion, and we were not playing hard," Colin Wilson said of the first two periods. "I do not want to take anything away from them because they played hard, got in behind our defense and forechecked. In the NHL, you cannot take a game off, and that is kind of what we did for the first 40 minutes."

Gabriel Bourque had a goal and an assist in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues.

He tied the game at 2-2 shortly after the Predators had a goal by Filip Forsberg disallowed. Bourque also collected an assist on Shea Weber's first of two goals on the night. He has only five points in 23 games this campaign.

Taylor Beck will dress for the Predators Monday night against the Rangers.

Beck hasn’t dressed in game since February 22nd in Buffalo but will get his chance Monday night at Madison Square Garden. He has five goals and 10 points with a minus three rating in 44 games this year and is not relevant fantasy forward. He is just 23-years-old so maybe he can aid a fantasy team in the upcoming years.

James Neal scored his 18th goal of the season Tuesday to lift the Predators to a 3-2 overtime win over Tampa Bay.

Those believing Neal would regress greatly after he left the Penguins might feel they were correct in that assumption, but thanks to solid peripheral stats he has actually been quite productive. Seth Jones and Taylor Beck also added first period goals for Nashville in the win.

Filip Forsberg scored his 20th goal of the season, but Nashville was no match for the Islanders Thursday night in a 5-2 loss.

Forsberg now has 51 points through 58 games this season but has tailed off a bit. In his first 28 games he notched an impressive 29 points, while managing 22 points in past 28 games. Nonetheless, the rookie is still on pace for a tremendous output this season.

Smith has been red hot of late with six goals and eight points in his last seven outings. There's a good chance he'll surpass the 24 goals he scored last season, but he's unlikely to reach the 50-point mark like he did in 2013-14.

Eric Nystrom will return to Nashville's lineup Tuesday against Montreal.

He missed the previous five games due to an upper body injury, however the Long Island native has just five goals and eight points on the season through 39 games. Nystrom cannot be recommended for your squad.

Roman Josi scored his 11th goal of the season Tuesday and added an assist in the Predators' 5-2 win over Colorado.

Josi's 44 points place him in a tie for fifth in league scoring among blueliners, only three points shy of leaders Mark Giordano and Kris Letang. Flip Forsberg, Craig Smith, Eric Nystrom and Calle Jarnkrok all scored goals for the Preds in the win.

Cody Franson earned an assist in a 2-1 shootout win over Buffalo on Sunday.

He had a power-play helper on a goal by Mike Ribeiro. Franson logged 19:22 of ice time in his second game with the Predators since being traded by Toronto. He has been paired with Mattias Ekholm on the back end.

Seth Jones switched to the left side during Wednesday's practice and was paired with Ryan Ellis, who is poised to return from a lower-body injury.

"It was a little confusing at first because I've been playing right all year, so there were a couple times I felt myself drifting toward the right and (Ellis) was like, 'Where ya' going?' " Jones said. "But we'll be fine in the game. I just have to get used to it a little bit." Jones skated on the left during the early part of the 2013-14 season.

He looked rusty in his return from a 21-game absence last Thursday against Minnesota and he hasn't played in the last two contests. "We're just making sure he's ready to go," coach Peter Laviolette said. The Nashville bench boss added that the team was being cautious with Ellis.

"He's been back on the ice for a couple days, so he's another that's day-to-day," coach Peter Laviolette said. "Anytime you get guys back practicing on the ice means they're getting close." He has sat out seven straight games with a lower-body injury.

Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne turned aside 39 shots but took the loss in the Rangers' 4-1 triumph in New York Monday night.

Rinne hasn't lost very much this season. He's now 35-11-3, and has been neck-and-neck with Montreal's Carey Price as the NHL's top goalie. His goals-against average is 2.10 and his save percentage, .923. Needless to say, if you've had Rinne as your fantasy goalie this season, you're lucky.

The Predators were the better team tonight as they outshot Buffalo 38 to 17. Hutton wasn't spectacular but he made enough saves to get his team the win. He turned aside three of four shooters in the shootout. The 29-year-old has now four consecutive starts and his overall record improves to 6-4-4 on the season.